Orlando Magic becoming a formidable team at Amway Center

Home-court advantage is real once again for the Orlando Magic and sweeping its home stand legitimized this team in a new way.

The Orlando Magic have come out in second halves and obliterated two straight opponents at home.

The Magic went bonkers Friday and scored 37 in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks. Two nights later, they threw up a 31-22 third period against the Boston Celtics.  In both games the Magic were playing extremely unselfish basketball, producing many five- and six-pass possessions.

“We talked about this being a three-game season when we came home and we did that,” Scott Skiles said. “And now we’ve got a long trip, day wise, all teams we feel like we can beat.But  If we’re not playing well, it can go either way for us. We have to continue to focus on how we’re playing and taking care of what we can control and hope for good results.”

The difference has been in approach.

Orlando now truly seems to be adjusting to its era, understanding how to best counter opposition while also exploiting small ball in its own right. The Magic have shifted Tobias Harris back to the 3-spot to move a sharpshooting Channing Frye into the starting lineup while Andrew Nicholson has suddenly become relevant.

The Magic have been exceptional on the offensive glass too, which combined with the sharing of the basketball has resulted in a lot of open looks for them. It is so different from the disfunction of last year that it is scarcely the same team.

A coaching change can do that. And suddenly this team is feeling confident, especially at home.

“It’s really good for our confidence,” Aaron Gordon said. “We expect to win more games. We expect to win these next games. Coming home and taking care of home court is something you have to do if you want to be a competitive team.

Suddenly, the Magic are 9-8 and very much looking like a low-seed playoff team.

A team that can defend its home court can do far more than the 35 wins many “experts” projected at the beginning of the season.

The Magic won all three of their home games in the home stand and now must try to take their success to the next level by competing well on a West Coast road trip.

If the Magic can walk through the fire in what has a typically been a tough test for NBA teams, it would only further solidify the fact Orlando has arrived.

“It’s definitely encouraging [to see results], but at the same time, we know we have to stay humble,” Tobias Harris said. “We know our schedule coming up we play some good teams. We have to go out there and really prove ourselves continuously and just try to get wins.”

A 7-3 home record is something the Magic have not seen since their days with Dwight Howard. This, if not illusory, puts the notion of being “on time” in the rebuild back within the arena of possibility.

It is because playing within one’s arena is the key to being a tough playoff team.

“Defend the home court,” has to become a real gnat in the ear of a team that had not been until this season. Now teams can come to the Amway Center and potentially anticipate a team capable of running it up. A 37-point quarter illustrates how dangerous this team can be, and if Orlando can pride itself on that specific part of its identity.

Perhaps it goes without saying that depth has been one of the biggest revelations. Even with Evan Fournier playing a reduced role, the Magic had five others step up and reach double figures, led by sixth man Victor Oladipo.

And that, too, has been a new revelation: Oladipo may be best suited as the team’s top reserve. He gets to dig his hand into the scoring dish deeply and become a more focused version of himself. He took 12 attempts in the win over the Boston Celtics but he also got to the line for eight free throws.

Oladipo has also stayed aggressive on the glass and provided some good looks for his teammates.

The difference is really he now can come in after studying what has gone awry or well, and react to the game. He is playing more cerebrally and slowing down.

It is funny what one small twist in coaching can do for a player, and Oladipo’s confidence appears greater in accepting a so-called demotion to the bench.

Payton has continued to be inconsistent shooting the basketball, but with Frye knocking down the three and Nicholson providing similar play in the second unit, the Magic are getting better looks, and the difference is astounding.

Orlando made its first six threes in the third quarter against the Bucks, while basically getting whatever look it wanted.

In the third against the Boston Celtics (above) the Magic knocked down four of eight from 3-point range while also five of eight from seven feet inwards.

It was a complete team effort, but the unpredictability of Orlando’s court units seems to keep teams guessing.

How do you scout for a team that has just started playing Fournier and Oladipo together in the backcourt at times. Which other teams are employing a two-shooting guard lineup?

Skiles seems unafraid to experiment and it is impacting Orlando in nothing but good ways. Nicholson has been a revelation, Frye has started to play good defense, and Shabazz Napier has become a threat as a sharpshooting backup point.

Things were clicking for the Magic this home stand. They gave fans a big reason to believe. The confidence was brewing and building. Now they have to take that on the road.

“It adds a lot to our confidence after we had a rough stretch and we didn’t play good basketball,” Vucevic said. “We weren’t happy about it. We talked about it as a team between ourselves that we wanted to pick it up and play like we played early in the year. I think we did that through all the three games. It’s even better because we won those games. But it’s really about playing the right way, doing the right things and I think we did that and that’s what got us the wins.”

There are so many things that have fallen into place that scarcely could have been predicted nor expected.  And now we look at a team over .500 before its first west coast road trip as the season nears its quarter-point. Could anyone have reasonably asked for more?

Philip Rossman-Reich contributed to this report.